Did you know that your Internet Explorer is out of date?

To get the best possible experience using our site we recommend that you use Google Chrome. To visit the Chrome download page, click the Get Chrome button below. Not using IE7? Refresh your browser and this message will go away!

How to use this site

Users will be able to find documents and use interactive tools to help them better understand the approved CPS budget for fiscal year 2018. The interactive features allow users to easily click through the budget, drilling into specific budget line details or staying at a high level overview of the District.

Users can view a number of areas of the budget including revenue and debt while also looking at every CPS school and department. Each interactive report generates graphs and charts which will make budget comparisons visual and easier to understand.

Capital

The FY18 budget for Chicago Public Schools includes a capital plan totaling $136 million for urgent facility maintenance projects, IT investments and school security equipment.

This plan builds off of the nearly $1 billion investment included in CPS’ FY17 capital plan, which was funded primarily by the Capital Improvement Tax – a property tax levy passed by the City Council in 2016 that provides funding specifically for school construction, equipment and maintenance. CPS issued bonds against this levy in December 2016 to fund critical investments in new schools, major renovations to existing schools, IT upgrades and programmatic investments to provide excellent educational facilities for CPS students.

The $938 million of investments included in the FY17 original and supplemental capital plans is funding major projects that will take two to three years to complete. These projects will relieve overcrowding in the city’s most crowded schools, equip classrooms with modern technology and improved internet access, and provide new educational programming options at schools across the city.

As the district completes the projects from the FY17 capital plan, the FY18 capital plan provides additional funding to address new critical needs as they arise. Though smaller in size than previous capital plans, the plan focuses on addressing the highest priority roof, envelope, and mechanical needs the district will face in FY18 while providing additional funding for crucial investments in security and IT infrastructure.

Under the leadership of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS and the Board of Education have provided over $3.2 billion since FY12 to build new schools, provide playgrounds and air conditioning, improve access to technology with new computers and expanded bandwidth, expand academic programs (career and technical education programs, for example), and make core investments in facilities to maintain roofs, fix chimneys, and replace or fix boilers and other mechanical systems. This has been done to ensure students have a high quality learning environment to support their education.

The new investments included in the FY18 capital plan will be funded by proceeds from the sale of real estate, remaining prior year bond proceeds, and other capital funds and bond proceeds as they become available. The Board intends to borrow to reimburse for projects as necessary, depending on future market access, and could issue a supplemental capital plan later in the year.

Of the $938 million FY17 capital budget, today, nearly $730 million in capital projects are underway at over 140 schools, each supporting CPS’ vision of expanding high-quality academic options for families across the city. Some projects have been completed and work on others has yet to begin.

CPS’ 5-year capital plan will include investments in overcrowding, deferred maintenance, targeted site improvements and emergency projects. Given the uncertainty of funding going forward; however, a comprehensive plan is not available at this time; full details on the FY18 Capital Plan are available at the Capital Plan website - cps.edu/capitalplan.

Addressing Urgent Facility Needs

The FY18 Capital Budget provides $109 million to address the district’s most urgent facility needs. $73 million has been allocated to priority renovation projects at schools with major roof, envelope, and mechanical repair and replacement needs, and another $36 million provides the ability to address any unplanned major renovation and maintenance needs.

Critical Investments in IT Infrastructure and Security

Included in the FY18 Capital Budget is $7 million to support the district’s critical IT systems and provide new and replacement security equipment to schools. Of this, $3 million will support the district’s ongoing implementation of a new student information system, a system used daily by schools and central office to track student and school-level data. An additional $2 million will support investments in the district’s internal network infrastructure and upgrades to its accounts payable system.

In addition to these investments, $2 million will fund new and replacement security equipment at schools – including cameras, intercom phones, alarms, and screening equipment – to ensure student safety at every school.

Transparency

The District’s FY18 Capital Plan is available on the interactive capital website at cps.edu/capitalplan, providing community members with easy access to detailed information on all capital projects that are planned and underway. The site allows users to quickly select projects by school, geographic area, type, and year. The site has been designed to encourage public engagement and comment.

Sources and Uses

The FY18 Capital Budget totals $136.2 million and will be funded by a combination of CPS resources and potential outside funding. Below is a summary of the sources and uses of the FY18 Capital Budget by project type:

Table 1: Sources and Uses (In Thousands)

Estimated Sources

Bond Proceeds and Other Capital Funds

$82,417

Proceeds from the Sale of Real Estate

$46,817

Other Potential Outside Funding

$7,000

Total FY18 Capital Budget Sources

$136,234

Estimated Uses

Facility Needs

$109,000

IT & Security Investments

$7,316

Capital Project Support Services

$12,918

Potential Funding for Externally Funded Projects

$7,000

Total FY18 Capital Budget Uses

$136,234

Impact of FY18 Capital Projects on Operating Budget

All projects considered for inclusion in the annual capital budget are analyzed for their projected impact on the District’s operating budget.

Facility Needs Projects

All of the projects in the FY18 Capital Plan are necessary projects for the continued operations of the Board. Facility needs projects address critical roofing and envelope projects and reducing the backlog of deferred maintenance projects of the District. Addressing these projects today reduces the increasing costs to the District of temporary fixes. These reduced costs reduce the debt service associated with bonding for these projects and thus reduce the burden on the operating fund.

Information Technology & Other Projects

The Information Technology (IT) projects in the FY18 capital budget consist of infrastructure, hardware or software implementation that does not trigger any additional operating costs. The ongoing support for these projects will be absorbed by current available staff, resulting in no increase to the District’s operating budget. The implementation of the new Student Information System and the upgrade of the Accounts Payable System will drive operating savings once implemented as the new systems will free up staff time.

New security equipment will add additional costs to the operating budget for maintenance and repair of additional equipment; however, we expect these costs to be limited as we fit the new equipment into our current maintenance and repair plan.

Capital Project Support Services/Legal Requirements

Capital Project Support Services and Legal Requirements provide funds to help support the management of the capital plan, including reconciliation of invoicing, managing projects and timeline of construction and ensuring the effective design, implementation and construction of various capital projects. These services are necessary to create efficiencies of a complex capital program and ensure key financial and management objectives.

Capital Projects Funds

The Summary of Capital Projects Funds table shows capital revenues and capital outlays (expenses) to be incurred in FY18 regardless of the year the project was appropriated. The Fund Balance (unspent revenues received in prior years) accounts for the difference in expected FY17 capital outlay versus revenues. For example, if the District raised $400 million in bond proceeds during a fiscal year but only expensed $300 million in the same time period, the remaining $100 million would carry forward in the Fund Balance for use during the following fiscal year.

Table 2: FY16 - FY18 Summary of Capital Projects Funds
(In Millions)

FY16
Actual

FY17
Estimate

FY18
Estimate

Beginning-Year Fund Balance

$ (131.1)

$ 138.9

$ 886.5

Revenues

Local

120.6

133.9

54.8

State

39.4

33.6

14.0

Federal

2.2

1.1

15.7

Total Revenue

162.2

168.6

84.5

Expenditures

Capital Outlay

271.1

203.5

475.3

Bond Proceeds

363.9

775.5

30.9

Sales of Capital Assets

15.0

7.0

3.5

End-of-Year Fund Balance

$ 138.9

$ 886.5

$ 530.1

Local revenue of $55 million includes $37 million from reimbursements from TIF-related projects and $18 million from other local funding sources.

The state revenue total is comprised of $13.3 million in gaming revenue for new construction projects and $0.7 million from Illinois Green Infrastructure Grants for prior year capital projects.

The federal revenue total is an expected $16 million in Federal E-Rate funding for upgrades to the District's IT infrastructure.

Table 3 outlines capital funds spent each fiscal year by the year in which the funds were appropriated. For a more detailed view into FY17 spending, CPS will publish a report by September 30, 2017 that offers a breakdown of funds by project, source, and other categories.

Connect

Quick Links

Chicago Public Schools is the third largest school district in the United States with more than 600 schools and serves 371,000 children. Our vision is that every student in every neighborhood will be engaged in a rigorous, well-rounded instructional program and will graduate prepared for success in college, career and life.